Holiday season is in full swing and this is by far one of my
favorite times of year! So full of tradition and excitement, this season brings
with it the promise of love, family, and a fresh start and new year when all is
said and done.

This year is definitely not disappointing.

Every year, the weekend before Christmas, my family goes to
an old inn called the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA (this was our 30th
year!!). This beautiful old building brings with it both nostalgia for my
youthful Christmas seasons, as well as a peaceful tranquility I am able to
appreciate more now that I am an adult. My days there consist of sitting by the
fire in the lobby with a book and chatting with the family and friends who have
also made this Inn a staple of their Christmas tradition.

I have gained an increasing affinity for red wine this trip,
specifically Mark West Pinot Noir, as suggested to me by my cousin!

This year I also took a trip with one of my best friends to
NYC for a night to really bring in Christmas week. We stayed at a beautiful
hotel, Hotel Sofitel, courtesy of
Expedia (we book our tropical vacations through Expedia so used our earned
‘points’ to get a free night at this gorgeous hotel!

We explored the city during the day at night hitting up
tourist staples such as Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square.

We also went into the Flatiron district for drinks and
dinner, hitting up Rolf’s (which has hands down the best holiday decorations
ever, however had a line at 5pm and once you got in you are packed in the bar
like sardines). We headed over to Eataly for dinner, but not before we took a
quick power nap in the outdoor hammocks!!

The grand finale of our trip was the life taping of Good
Morning America’s ugly Christmas sweater party! We woke up at 5:30 to get to
check in at 6 (our hotel was 1 block away from the studio in Times Square).
However things got hairy when my friend ran to Starbucks for much needed
sustenance and we missed our check in and had to wait in standby (which after
much lamenting, arguing and sadness, we were finally assigned seats in the
seating room!!). It was so much fun to watch the behind the scenes of the show
and I even got on camera!!

Hope everyone has an amazing Christmas, and here's to
resolving to a more consistent blog schedule come 2017!

I hope everyone is enjoying their week! I have a lot to do
this week but I am trying to find little moments in the day and enjoy myself.
For the past two months I have been really trying to do this more and more..
not huge things but just taking a few minutes longer to do something that I
know will make me feel better later on. For example, I have really been trying
to take the time to dry and straighten my hair after I wash it, every time. I
am usually super lazy and don't want to take the time to do it, but I hate the
way my hair looks when I don’t dry it, so I have been really making the extra
effort, and I can really tell a difference with my overall mood and confidence!

Speaking of hair, I wanted to do a post today about a quick,
go to hairstyle I like to wear when I work at the hospital. I hate having hair
in my face during the day and I hate having to fuss about it when I am trying
to do other things, so this hairstyle is perfect for me!!

Braids are always a good way to maintain your hair and they usually
do a good job of staying put for a while (hello, 12-hour shift), while still
looking cute and put together.

I am not the world’s best hairdresser (by any means, my
sister can attest to that), but I have definitely been able to up my hair game
by researching different styles and learning how to do them on YouTube! Just
search what you’re looking for and I am sure you wont be disappointed with the “how-
to” results!

On another note, I hope everyone had such a fun Thanksgiving
filled with family, friends, love and delicious meals! I had to work on
Thanksgiving and was planning on needing to forgo my family traditional
Thanksgiving dinner that my parents host at our house. Our managers arranged to
have a full Thanksgiving dinner delivered to our unit. It was fun to celebrate
this holiday with my work family and the meal was actually super delicious
(there was SO much food). However, while at work our census dropped and we were
able to send 4 nurses home at 3 pm, and I was one of them!! I called my family
and they were so excited. When I got home around 4 pm, it turns out everyone
postponed the meal (we usually eat at 2:30) to wait until I got there! I barely
had the heart to tell them I had already eaten (but of course I indulged in
some more turkey and mashed potatoes!)

It was such a nice gesture of them to ensure that I was
included in the meal. When I entered my house, the love was tangible, and it
really helped me appreciate the wonderful family I am blessed to be a part of.

Now, it is officially acceptable for me to listen to Christmas
music!! Get ready for plenty of Christmas and winter themed posts in the near
future! (especially once my finals are done on December 7th!)